Suzuka, Tests: Muller leads a close test session

14 drivers covered by only five tenths

By Franck Drui

20 September 2013 - 07:44
Suzuka, Tests: Muller leads a close test

Yvan Muller’s RML Chevrolet Cruze set the fastest lap in today’s test at Suzuka. It was a very close session, with 14 drivers covered by only five tenths and all five brands – Chevrolet, Honda, LADA, SEAT and BMW – represented in the top-nine places.

Tiago Monteiro’s Honda Civic set the pace for most of the time and only in the final moments was the Portuguese’s lap time of 54.187 bettered by Muller (54.081) and Pepe Oriola (54.103).

James Thompson placed his LADA Granta in fourth (54.220) ahead of Rob Huff’s SEAT León (54.261). Gabriele Tarquini, James Nash (the fastest in the Yokohama Trophy) and Tom Chilton rounded out the top-eight, while Mehdi Bennani emerged as the best of the BMW men in ninth (54.346), only two-tenths off Muller’s lap.

Hiroki Yoshimoto was the best of the Asian Trophy competitors, ranking in 14th position.
Most of the drivers had moments during the test: Muller, Monteiro, Tom Coronel, Oriola, Alex MacDowall, Tarquini, Bennani, Yoshimoto, Marc Basseng, Norbert Michelisz, Darryl O’Young and Charles Ng all ran wide but managed to rejoin.

However, the session was red flagged three times for incident at Turn 8. Once after only five minutes, when Filipe de Souza span off, a second time with 17 minutes left on the clock, when Mikhail Kozlovsky beached his LADA car onto the gravel trap and finally eight minutes to the end because of Michelisz’s spin.

Saturday will see the WTCC field take to the track for two thirty-minute Free Practice sessions, before the two-stage Qualifying begins at 15.30 local time (8.30 CET).

Pos. Driver Car Time
1 Yvan MULLER Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 54.081
2 Pepe ORIOLA Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 54.103
3 Tiago MONTEIRO Honda Civic 54.187
4 James THOMPSON Lada Granta 54.220
5 Rob HUFF SEAT Leon WTCC 54.261
6 Gabriele TARQUINI Honda Civic 54.262
7 James NASH Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 54.304
8 Tom CHILTON Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 54.317
9 Mehdi BENNANI BMW 320 TC 54.346
10 Stefano D’ASTE BMW 320 TC 54.489
11 Darryl O’YOUNG BMW 320 TC 54.489
12 Tom CORONEL BMW 320 TC 54.556
13 Fernando MONJE SEAT Leon WTCC 54.614
14 Hiroki YOSHIMOTO Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 54.656
15 Marc BASSENG SEAT Leon WTCC 54.715
16 Alex MACDOWALL Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 54.777
17 Takuya IZAWA Honda Civic 54.963
18 Charles NG BMW 320 TC 55.031
19 Norbert MICHELISZ Honda Civic 55.042
20 René MUNNICH SEAT Leon WTCC 55.650
21 Tom BOARDMAN SEAT Leon WTCC 55.697
22 Mikhail KOZLOVSKIY Lada Granta 55.890
23 Yukinori TANIGUCHI BMW 320 TC 56.979
24 Henry HO BMW 320 si 57.051
25 Jeronimo BADARACO Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 57.177
26 Ka Lok MAK BMW 320 si 57.724
27 Kin Veng NG Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 57.771
28 Filipe de SOUZA Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T 58.122

WTCR

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